LETTER 18. PEPPER-WATER 135 
their body into a perfect round, and thereupon oft-times 
burst asunder; and the globules, together with some 
watery humour, flowed out on all sides, without my being 
able to discern any other remains. These globules, which, 
in the bursting asunder, flowed apart from one another, 
were of about the bigness of the first-mentioned very 
little animalcules. And albeit I could as yet distinguish 
no feet on the said animalcules, none the less I imagined 
that they must be furnished with many very little ones ; 
for the very smallest animalcules (whereof I have already 
said there were a great many in this water, and of which 
more than 100 sometimes lay around one of the little oval 
creatures) were driven away from the bigger ones by the 
motion which these made in the water (even when the 
big animalcules themselves seemed to me simply to lie 
still, without stirring at all), just as if you were to blow a 
feather from your mouth.’ Of these oval animalcules I 
could never discover any very little kind,’ how diligently 
soever I sought them. 
The 24th ditto, examining this water again, I found the 
oval animalcules in a much greater number. Dvtto, in 
the evening, looking again, I perceived so great a plenty 
of the oval animalcules, that ‘twas not a mere thousand 
that I saw in one drop; while there were several thousands 
of the very small animalcules in the same drop. 
The 25th ditto, I saw still more of the oval animalcules, 
and some most exceeding thin little tubes,’ which I had 
also seen many a time before this. 
The 26th ditto, I saw such a great many of the oval 
creatures, that I believe there were more than 6 or 8 
thousand in one drop, not counting the multitude of very 
little animalcules, whereof the number was far greater. 
SS, - aE 
1 This is obviously a description of a ciliate (e.g. Colpidium), with actively 
vibrating cilia, lying among bacteria. 
® f.e., any young ones. 
* pijgpjes MS. Probably thread-bacteria. 
